pCar as my daily driver?

[tcesar888]

Howzit, howzit!

I own a ‘78 911SC Targa.; I love the car. It’s basic, with no frills…none! BTW, it only has 28K original miles… I also have a 2000 Mercedes E320 with 35K miles; the perfect cruiser. The wife has a newer X3 SUV. Since I picked-up the pCar I have ignored my E320... Why keep it???

Here in-lies my dilemma… I don’t know if I can “trust” the pCar enough to be my ONLY ride? Not to mention my ability to haul family & junk (I can deal with that though…). What I mean by “trust” is that I need something day-in-day-out that I can count on. Is it my misconception that its not good practice to use my pCar as my daily driver? I see pCars with tons of miles; they seem to hold up!

Here is what I am considering: Selling E320 and use the pCar as my daily. Then later (if need) buy a used pickup for household chores etc… The wife’s ride remains the same…

Please give me your thoughts? Pros/Cons? I''m not a alone on this; or am I?

Thanks!

Tom

PS: I live in Hawaii. My daily trek is about 30miles at the most; very little on the weekends. The weather is, well, Hawaii… The lack of HVAC or power windows is not a total killer…

[oregonmon]

Well I've owned my 79 SC for about 4 months and I've used it primarily as my daily driver. I can put my 2 year old in the car seat in the back and I can still easily spend $300 at Costco on grocery type stuff without buying anything I wasn't planning on.
My wife was pretty squished in the front with my daughter in the back but we have a mid size SUV and sedan for those kind of trips.
I'm surprised how easily this has become my daily driver but I do think it couldn't be my only car for my family. The truck might be a good idea.

[livi]

Welcome!

Although an almost 30 years old car will always have it´s issues, the SC is generally a very reliable car if it has been well maintained and cared for.

If I was lucky to live in such a beautiful climate I would not hesitate one moment to use it as my daily driver. I use mine here in Sweden during the road salt free months every day on a 50 miles commute.

Having said that, I would perhaps hesitate if the daily drives included children. Both for safety and convenience I therefor admit to having a second car.

[WPOZZZ]

Are you on Oahu? As for using the car as a dd, it can be done. I used to use my 85 cab as a daily, but switched to my 996 when I got it. Then I figured I better use my BMW as the daily since it is listed as my business car. That way I can write off gas, insurance and other repairs to the car.

The main thing about using it as a daily is to be up to date on the maintenance and preventive maintenance is most important.

Btw, come out to our Cars and Coffee meets on the 2nd Saturday of the month at Manoa District Park from 8 am to 10 am. In July, we're using the Kaaipu Ave parking lot. There's a bunch of BMWs, Corvettes and Porsches there. The PCA is well represented with our local President and Secretary in attendance.

[Porsche]

I drove my 77 targa as a daily driver for 2 years with no problems - but mind you, this was after a complete engine rebuild.

[tcesar888]

Originally posted by WPOZZZ
Are you on Oahu? As for using the car as a dd, it can be done. I used to use my 85 cab as a daily, but switched to my 996 when I got it. Then I figured I better use my BMW as the daily since it is listed as my business car. That way I can write off gas, insurance and other repairs to the car.

The main thing about using it as a daily is to be up to date on the maintenance and preventive maintenance is most important.

Btw, come out to our Cars and Coffee meets on the 2nd Saturday of the month at Manoa District Park from 8 am to 10 am. In July, we're using the Kaaipu Ave parking lot. There's a bunch of BMWs, Corvettes and Porsches there. The PCA is well represented with our local President and Secretary in attendance.

Thanks Bryan,

I'll come out! I live in Kaneohe and work Downtown. I'm anal, so the car is solid for the most part. I'm in the middle of "normalizing" just about every aspect and getting familiar with wrenching on it. Learning a ton!

Thanks to EVERYONE for all the great feedback.

Tom

[drsimonwong]

If you can, keep all 3. Sometimes the Porsche isn't practical and sometimes it'll need repairs. If you can do maintainence yourself the cost is resonable but it takes time and if you pay someone else then the cost isn't and you might delay the repairs.

I use my '85 as a daily driver but it needed an engine rebuild last year. We pulled the engine out last September....it'll be finished soon!

It's lucky that I have my Toyota wagon as back up :-)

Oh, incidentally the engine rebuild will end up costing about twice the value of my Toyota in total....

[wesayso]

I have an '82 SC I use as my daily driver, rain or shine and even during the winter here in the Netherlands. We do have a family car but even managed some time without one ;-). I drive it daily for about a year and a half and have had no big issues. Sure some stuff breaks after 25+ years but that can be fixed. Just go for it!

[JanneSC]

I use my Carrera 3,2 with 140K miles as daily driver in very heavy traffic of Barcelona. I have Mercedes ML too which I only use when I need some space. I'm not worried about reliability with P-car as I have had more problems with my 2001 ML. I used to have a SC from 1979 which I used also pretty much as daily driver. With SC I had some basic stuff like broken fuel pump but it had also over 100k miles on clock.

[wolf]

me too use 3.2 as only car altough to work mostly on bicycle.

[WPOZZZ]

Originally posted by tcesar888
Thanks Bryan,

I'll come out! I live in Kaneohe and work Downtown. I'm anal, so the car is solid for the most part. I'm in the middle of "normalizing" just about every aspect and getting familiar with wrenching on it. Learning a ton!

Thanks to EVERYONE for all the great feedback.

Tom

I would say to sell the Benz. From a depreciation standpoint, you will still lose money on the Benz as it gets older. Whereas the 911 will hold its value and will even increase over the years.

[SLO-BOB]

I think using any vintage car as a daily driver is a "lifestyle" choice. It's doable, but you need to factor in the quirks of having an old car vs a newer, posh, turn-key MB with air conditioning. If you can handle those quirks and you stay very on top of maintenance (which it sounds you will do) and can live with the cramped quarters, all I can say is.....



I'M ENVIOUS!



My Porsches have been the most reliable cars I have owned. My 77 never let me down and my 964 has proven excellent also. The 3.0 SC should outlast your MB even with it's head start in age. If I lived in a warmer climate (someday......someday....sigh) I would make my 911 my DD. Btw-The P/U is a good choice for back-up which you should have.

[Macroni]

Totally reliable and extremely cool. Dump the Mercedes!

[kplackmeyer]

I've got a 75 911s, using as daily driver, but can't even think of letting go of my 1999 Silverado 2500. No reflection on the reliabliity of the 911, mind you. That truck will haul, tow or drag ANYTHING....and it's the only american vehicle I have ever owned in 20 years of driving. Plus, it's always nice to have another vehicle to run to the parts store in, or...if you happen to get something apart and you THINK you ordered everything you need...only to find it needs to stay on the jack stands for a week. Bumming rides gets old fast. Oh...and there is no room in the 911 for my ATV.

[MattAlpha]

I've used my 911 as a daily driver since I bought it. It has been off the road for a few weeks (total) while I was fixing and upgrading things. It has never failed me or left me stranded. Most things I've been able to catch before they failed (thanks mostly to this forum and Wayne's books). I've put around $3K into it, but most things that I've repaired were do to neglect from previous owners.

I do live in the Monterey Bay region of CA so the weather is pretty nice all year round.

My wife doesn't see it as a real family car though.
-Matt

[red 69]

I drive my 69 iroc daily, up & down the freeways ,stop and go on the streets of l.a., with carbs , no problem,and if not the porsche ,the harley 78 shovelhead work just fine.

[BeyGon]

I bought my 89 3.2 Targa a year ago May, it had 44k miles on it, I drive it almost every day and now have 55k miles on it. I sold my 62 Nova wagon and 71 Skylark so this is my ONLY car. I love it, I love driving it.

[tcesar888]

THANK YOU!

This is exactly why I enjoy this forum. Everyone is helpful and straight-up.

With all the great suggestions and comments, I'm going to sell the MB and pickup a small truck (IE: Tacoma extended cab or like...). Use the pCar as my DD and balance it out with the truck. Best of all worlds.

Thanks again everyone! I hope my input(s) will be as helpful on other posts.

Mahalo!

Tom

[dshepp806]

I purchased a '89 Silver Anniversary, 3.2 L, 911 Carrerra back in November ...She arrived with 112K on an engine that had BOTH top an bottom rebuild...VERY well maintained, as the P.O. was not the type to do his own work.....he handed it off to a well-respected P-wrench in my area for its 8 1/2 years of HIS ownership (I think I tallied his reciepts over this time period [[[[[to include ALL normal (preventative) and remedial services]]]]] to be around 28K!!! I'm now reading 129K on the dial, having taken her on several trips, as well as daily driver tasks. NOW,..I'm reassessing my approach to this (DAMN!!! It's SO hard to not drive her daily!!) She now rests during the week,..with me taking my reliable '97 Nissan truck (FREEZING AC!!) to work each day and saving her for the weekends...The wife gets her on Fridays for her work run..I have her for the weekend, be it work or pleasure. I'm now a bit over the initial sensation of ownership and have decided to keep her mileadge a bit downward....As one poster mentioned,..it is (somewhat) of a "lifestyle" decision (an interesting word?),..yet I see his point......as to the the mechanicals,...I now understand that she doesn't want to see short runs ,...here and there.........I pay particular attention to RPM's on ramp-up and the prequisite temp requirements to keep her (and the carbon) happy.......SO,..no short runs,..EVER!!!!! It's depressing to walk by her on Mon-Fri, on to the Nissan (AGAIN: FREEZING AC...hello?), making promises of relational restitution come Sat. AM @ 7:30...for, at least, 1 1/2 hours!!! Spirited, nontheless......quite spirited.

However,..somehow I feel this is the right thing to do......I do love learning about working on this car,...particularly from this PRICELESS group.........It's truly impressive. So I'm able to reduce my expenses through my own knowledge-seeking (guidance) and fortitude.......engaging WHAT's in front of me. Painfully, I think I've made the right decision (for her),..she's execised enough within a 7-day period,..I assure you........learning through DE's and upcoming track time.......we have to START somewhere,.......you guys already know the drill.....

Inabycase,...that's my daily driver "story"...here in Macon, GA...onset of a MISERABLY HUMID ONCOMING SUMMER!!!!

2 things: I can't quite explain the change the car has had on me...I SOOOO love it......don't tell me you can't have a perfect childhood at 51 years of age!!! Secondly, this group is (without question) the best out there......YOU GUYS ROCK!!!!


My best,

Doyle

[masraum]

I put about 50k miles on my old '88 in about 3-3.5 years driving it daily, rain or shine. I loved driving it everyday. It had 110k miles when I started and 160k when I sold it. I drove it to and from FL (7 hour drive) and Dallas (5 hour drive) without problem.

I say go for it.